communicate :: collaborate :: commemorate

With the Surface 3 retired, I moved back to the Yoga 3 Pro as my Windows 10 machine. It's not perfect, especially the keyboard. That has an extra column of keys to the right which drive me crazy.

But it is fairly light and fast enough. 3200x1800 screen res on a 13.3" screen, 12.8 mm thin and below 1.2 kg. That is more than 10 percent thinner and lighter than the latest MacBook Pro, with a much higher screen res than a Retina display. It has three USB-A ports, one MicroHDMI and one for an SD card. And it is installing all Windows 10 fixes, so far. Unfortunately I had to return the Thinkpad X1 Yoga. That was the best 2-in1 I have seen in all of 2016.

Something is going to happen. Maybe I can move up to a Surface Pro 4 or a Yoga 910.

Comments

I am leaning towards the Surface Pro 4. It's a very solid performer and has an exceptional build quality. You can use the excellent Surface Pen, which is only second to Apple Pencil. The keyboard can be replaced (or detached) which makes it a better tablet.

Yoga 910 is more a classic laptop and can be used on a lap where the Surface cannot. It needs less space on a table when in a pinch. And it has a larger screen with higher resolution. Lenovo has improved the keyboard in that they can now have both the German (tall) enter key as well as the American (flat) enter key without needing two different aluminium bodies.

But there is still a compromise around the right shift key. I am sure I would hit the up key often when I need the right shift key. I am used to the (old) MacBook Pro layout with half height cursor keys. Even the new MacBook Pro layout with two half height and two full height cursor keys would need adjustment. Incidentally that layout is shared with the Surface Pro 4 keyboard, so that would be my future.

I would suggest to take a long hard look at the ThinkPad X1 Yoga. It has the more solid hinge, it has a pen that is stored (and charged) inside the machine. That may be the best compromise.

I give my vote to the X1 Yoga as well. If you use OneNote, it's the best note taking tool I have ever used. The workflow from writing to integration with just about anything - email, contacts, calendar, documents, libraries, group chat, emeetings, and even social via so many tools. If you are all in on Office365, it's amazing. I did the same with evernote and it's ecosystem as well. Especially with the new native windows app.